FOR MANY LATINOS, HISTORIC ELECTION TURNS INTO UNIMAGINABLE NIGHTMARE

Young Latino patriot sits on curb confused after Trump victory

Report by Cindy Carcamo & Esmeralda Bermudez | Los Angeles Times

Manuel Acosta wanted to believe the time had finally come.

For three decades, many Latinos felt American politicians targeted them. There was Proposition 187,
the 1994 California measure denying public services to immigrants in the country illegally. That was
followed by voter-approved bans on affirmative action at state universities as well as bilingual education.

America would not abide this, Acosta and many others believed. The morning of the election, polling
experts predicted that Latinos, with their rising voter numbers, could be the ones to defeat Trump.
Instead, before the sun broke Wednesday morning, many found themselves, once more, grieving and shocked.

“It’s a depressing reality check,” said Acosta, a financial analyst from El Sereno. “We’re still the
underdog, despite how much power and clout people assume we have.”

As the weight of the defeat sank in, many Latinos feared for loved ones who could be deported or face...